We periodically give you advice on finding the best contact center candidates. Now, we’ll tell you the top lies the bad candidates tell — and how to spot them.
If you’re a small contact center, it can be even worse: Job candidates with something to hide are more likely to try to put it past you.
“… They assume that the companies are less likely to perform background checks on their candidates as compared to large enterprises,” said Glen Schrank, CEO of HireRight. “And although more and more small businesses are performing professional, enterprise-quality background screening today, job seeks still try to get away with it.”
Make their deceitful jobs tougher by knowing the biggest lies told on resumes:
1. Dates of employment
As many as 34% of resumes include exaggerations of actual dates of employment, a HireRight study found. They stretch the truth to cover gaps in employment.
Fix: Don’t take dates for granted. Verify with past employers.
2. Degree or credentials
About 20% of resumes include a discrepancy in education qualifications or credentials. They tend to tout a degree when they only took some courses. Or they might add a major when they took just one course on the subject — and got an “A.” Some go as far as forging diplomas.
Fix: Even if you ask to see a degree, it might not be real. So check with schools and programs cited on resumes.
3. Salary or title
This is where candidates tend to inflate themselves, claiming they made more money or had more power than they actually did.
Fix: You can almost always verify titles with previous employers. You might have to ask candidates for W-2 forms to verify actual salary.
4. Storied history
Most people don’t like to admit — much less put it in black and white — their storied pasts include a criminal record or drug use. In fact, 11% of all background checks return a criminal record. Candidates might try to hide criminal records by changing the spelling of names or dates of birth.
Fix: Background checks can’t catch all deceptions — especially when they change names and birth dates — but they’re worth the try to avoid hiring candidates who will have a negative effect on your company and customers.
